It's been the dream of Quinton van der Burgh, the billionaire boss and the executive producer of the show, to find an international - preferably American - broadcaster to pick up the show. The Los Angeles-based producer and distributor MarVista Entertainment has licensed the first season of Clifton Shores to the TV Guide Network, which can currently be seen on Vuzu on MultiChoice's Vuzu channel on DStv. The 13 episode reality show follows the American women working for Quinton van der Burgh's marketing company, Quintessential.
Quinton van der Burgh has just returned to South Africa after attending an American launch party for the show in Los Angeles where two episodes per week will be shown on the TV Guide Network, bringing the US finale very close to the South African one.
"Licensing a finished show to a US network is a massive coup for a man who only got involved in the entertainment industry a few short years ago with a dream to show off South Africa as a world-class tourist destination," says publicist Melinda Shaw.
"The Shores complements our existing line-up of reality programming ... the look, the glamorous lifestyles of the rich and beautiful in other parts of the world which will surely entice our viewers," says Allen Shapiro, chairperson of TGVN.
"Confirming the US deal was our first goal, and we are very proud to have achieved that," says Quinton van der Burgh. "We had a fantastic start in South Africa ... and this new partnership with TV Guide Network is set to be a great springboard to the rest of the world. A lot was dependent on us getting US distribution, so now that this has happened, we expect faster movement in licensing the show elsewhere."
"It is almost impossible to break into the US TV market with a finished show," says Quinton van der Burgh. "The major networks prefer to be involved in the production process from the start to finish so that it can be an original production - a finished show like Clifton Shores has a very hard time even when the network heads are as impressed with the concept and the production values as they've been."
Last week MarVista showcased the series at the international entertainment content market Mipcom in Cannes, France.
Quinton van der Burgh would like to do a second season of Clifton Shores. "It is likely to include a broader international footprint, with additional filming possibilities in Europe and Dubai."
